Ballroom Blitz
by Fictionnaire
Summary: When Tony is poisoned at an InterAgency ball... A dangerous alliance is formed when three people from 3 different Agencies team up to find the people responsible.
1. Chapter 1

_**UNTITLED (BALLROOM BLITZ )CHAPTER ONE**_

The Ballroom was large and exquisite. A long flight of stairs with soft Champaign colored carpet covered them. Gold railings ran on either side with one in the middle to divide the staircase for people to have room, to go up and down them. The large room was surrounded with tables that were covered in expensive white table cloths. Each table was numbered and labeled for each agency and blue candles with red plastic flowers place just right in the middle. The expensive china, crystal goblets and, silverware completed the picture. There was a dance floor in front of them with a stage in front of the floor. A band played live music that floated around the room. A large bar was set in the back. There was a mirror with white etching designs on it along with the wooden counter that shone while the drinks flowed freely.

There were representatives invited from every agency. The idea was to promote all the agencies to become better aquatinted. The higher ups in command hoped this would help to make the agencies all work together like a well oil machine.

Gibbs entered the building dressed up in an expensive tuxedo, something he felt very uncomfortable in. This wasn't Leroy Jethro Gibbs, dressing like this or going to these dinners, this was more like something DiNozzo or Ducky would be comfortable at. Thank God, they were with him and that he knew some people here. Ducky stood to his left and he looked, as Jethro knew he would, a lot more at home wearing the dark suit and tie.

Gibbs grumbled to his friend. "If I hear one more James Bond reference, I swear I'm going to head slap DiNozzo into next month," He finished with a snarl.

"He's just excited Jethro," Ducky explained, trying to quiet his friend's nerves.

Tony adjusted his bow tie, comfortable in it and wore a huge grin on his face. He was used to parties like these. His parents had had enough of them when he was a kid. There were a few things he could thank his parents for. They made sure he knew how to act, dress and dance for these sort of occasions. Still, he was thrilled to be here, nothing could break his mood tonight. Tough it was kind of funny to see his boss dressed in a tux, he'd never imagined it. Tony saw Gibbs more like Roger Moore, in his Bond days. On the other side stood Ducky, Tony smiled as his train of thought stayed on the Bond movies. Ducky, to him looked more like a mixture of all but one of the actors who played James Bond. He'd rather forget about Timothy Dalton. But the one thing that stuck in Tony's head was that he always saw him self as the Sean Connery, Bond The original.

The gathering was organized also for the different agencies to celebrate together and mingle outside of work. Due to peoples' reluctance to attend such an event, it was extended to include, _The Golden Boys_ and some departmental heads. Tony wasn't a fan of being referred to as a golden boy but he leapt at the opportunity to dress up as James Bond and be a part of something this big and eloquent. He wanted to meet some of the brass. He guessed it was in the DiNozzo blood, these parties and these people he was so good schmoozing with.

Tony, Ducky and Gibbs descended down the stairs and entered the room filled with so many diverse people. Tony's eyes scanned the room. It was easy to spot the different organizations since they were dressed in that attire. The only trouble was telling the difference between the FBI, CIA and Homeland Security. He knew he'd remember once they sat at the right tables.…

"Pick the odd one out," Ducky said as he looked around at everybody.

"Homeland Security," Tony responded quickly. "You have NCIS, FBI, CIA… JAG… Homeland Security doesn't stand for anything," he said triumphantly.

Gibbs rolled his eyes as they broke off from each other to do as they were told. He knew that Ducky and Tony would mingle well, they were used to these types of affairs. But Gibbs had to push himself. Well, at least he knew a few of the people from the agencies. He also knew that word would definitely get back to Jenny if they just hung around each other all night. Only he knew that it was mostly him that wanted just to hang around who he was comfortable with, hell, he wasn't comfortable with being here in the first place. He let out a soft sigh and thought more about the evening. Jenny wasn't able to attend and they were there to represent DC's NCIS. Jenny loved to kiss ass on the hill as he remembered telling her when she first started and had come to visit him. Maybe this was her way of getting back at him, he snickered.

* * *

The first person Ducky almost bumped into was Harmon Rabb JR from JAG. The taller man nodded in polite greeting. "Doctor Mallard isn't it?" Harm asked.

"Please call me Donald," Ducky replied as they shook hands. "You know, I haven't been to a Gala Event this huge since being invited to Prince Alis' dinner party in '85 or was it '86… Wait it was in '86, that's right the party was right after we were informed of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster," Ducky said.

Harm pursed his lips tightly as the ME continued to relay what Harm thought as a pointless story. He tried so hard to feign interest but couldn't even muster enough will to even do that. "The others?" Harm asked.

"I didn't know them back then," Ducky answered while shaking his head. "I wonder if they were, why on Earth would they be in Peru?" He asked. "Oh right… Yes, they're doing the meet and greet. You know the meet and greet…"

"I see an old friend, excuse me, Donald." Harm quickly interrupted before going to another group of people.

* * *

Gibbs met up with Tobias Fornell who was representing the FBI. It was always customary in public places to see Tobias and Agent Sacks joined at the hip. Gibbs acted as politely as he could. "Tobias…Agent Sacks," he greeted in his usual gruff manner.

"Jethro…" Fornell replied. "I see you got roped into this as well," he said in an understanding tone. He hated that his boss had sent them on this interagency mission as well. The annoyance clearly showed. "Run along and play Sacks, mingle," Tobias said, indicating that he wanted time alone and that he wanted his agent to do what he, him self didn't fell like doing.

"Yeah, this is so ridiculous," Gibbs whispered. "I have no problem communicating what I want," he smiled at that, "only Jenny sent me. She's the ass kisser, not me."

"That you do. And my boss sent me too, so I understand, so they sent the best bastards of our agencies" Fornell chuckled.

"Ya think?" Gibbs grinned with a chuckle of his own.

Fornell moved closer and took a sip of his preferred drink. "You think if we snuck out anyone would notice," he was positive they would since they were surrounded by well trained investigators. "Hell, if we left it'd probably start a trend and soon there'll be nobody in here," Fornell joked.

"And who would give a damn about the wasted food. The only thing that's good here are the free drinks." Gibbs added to the joke.

"Well, best mingle. I feel like I'm undercover." Fornell finished the joke and saw Gibbs nod in agreement before he left.

* * *

Tony met up with Faith Coleman from JAG. The place was so filled you couldn't turn around without bumping into someone from JAG. Tony assumed that they wanted their presence known. "You want to dance?" Tony asked with his best manners and charm. "I bet you're a good dancer," he had expected her to flatly refuse.

"Sure Agent DiNozzo," Faith answered and allowed him to take the lead. "So what you been working on lately?" She made polite conversation.

Tony waited awhile before he answered. Now was the time to tease her more. He remembered how anal she was with the pencils in the glass when he had spoken to her on a case. He had teased her then too, but now he knew just how to get to her. The hell with his manners, this would be more fun, he mused "Firstly I had to dig around in mud to find some evidence and later I actually assisted Ducky do an autopsy," Tony explained. "Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to shower before coming here," he smiled, at the lie he was spinning to get to the JAG lawyer.

Faith quickly removed his hands from around her waist and gasped before she literally ran away. Tony couldn't help but shake his head and laugh. The laugh was quickly interrupted by a head slap. "Hey," Tony said.

"Play nice DiNozzo," Gibbs said harshly. He had watched the scene play out and had to admit that it was funny. But if word got back to the director, he'd have his ass handed to him on a silver platter.

"Yes Boss," Tony responded like he did when he was a kid to his father.

"Good. Now run along and get me a drink from the bar," Gibbs ordered. "I'll be over there," Gibbs pointed to the stairs where Ducky was talking to a couple of people.

"What type of drink Boss? There are a lot at a bar not that you wouldn't know that…" Tony asked and then trailed off at his mistake.

"Something alcoholic," Gibbs answered. "Other than that… Surprise me. But nothing fruity, something strong," he said.

Tony couldn't help but smirk. It was obvious what drink was running through his mind. The drink was perfect for the attire Gibbs was wearing. "Martini… Shaken not stirred," Tony said to the man tending bar. "Make it a good one."

After awhile, the bartender placed a glass on the wooden counter in front of Tony. "Thank you," Tony replied with a smile as he took the martini glass. He stayed there for awhile and wondered if he really did look like James Bond now. To quench his thirst he took a mouthful of the glass. It did taste really good.

Tony could see Ducky and Gibbs talking with some people from either the CIA or maybe Homeland Security. He walked past a group of people. He tightly held the drink so it wouldn't spill when he almost bumped into someone.

"Watch where you're going," he heard someone he didn't recognize say.

"Oh sorry," Tony said and adjusted his tie. "I think I just lost my footing," he explained his actions. He looked behind him at the person who was no longer listening. "Hey, I think I tripped over something," Tony said as he excused himself. Heat coursed through his veins, almost to the point of burning. The sensation grew stronger.

"Oh God," Tony slumped against a wall with a heavy thud. The room felt like it was moving. He studied the contents of the glass. His brain was a little fuzzy but he still was able to realize that he started to feel this way shortly after the drink of the Martini he held. "Oh no, this isn't good" he licked his lips. His lips became dry after he realized he was either drugged or poisoned.

There was only one person to take the glass to and another to keep it away from. He wasn't sure how he made it to the other side of the room without walking into someone or even falling over.

"Hey, are you alright?" A voice asked. Tony's vision began to blur, and made it impossible to focus on the face. "You should sit down or something," the voice spoke again. Tony couldn't seem to move from the spot even though he tried.

Harm had noted that something wasn't right with the NCIS agent. He held Tony still by clasping the Agent's shoulders. Something clearly was wrong since he'd almost fell into the wall and he was hardly able to walk straight.

"Let me go," Tony said in a panicked voice. He then covered the martini glass with his other hand. Harm let go of the agent he recognized, reluctantly but continued to watch him even as someone began talking to him.

Movement at the base of the stairs had caught Gibbs' attention. He could see Tony stagger almost sideways to the stairs and began to climb them holding on to the rail tightly, his gait, very awkward. Gibbs knew something was wrong and it went right to his gut. He was proven right when Tony knees buckled and his hand let go of the rail so his knees now supported him on the stairs. He somehow knew he had to save the drink to know what was in it and gently put the glass down.

"Ducky," Gibbs got the attention of the ME.

They watched as Tony went from his knees to lying face down. Both Gibbs and Ducky walked quickly to where Tony was. By this time people had noticed that something strange was going on.

"DiNozzo?" Gibbs called to his agent. Anyone who knew the man would have heard the alarm in his voice as he knelt down beside the younger man.

"I think I've been poisoned thought drug, now, don't," Tony struggled to tell Gibbs and then he pointed to the martini glass. "I feel like I'm burning inside out, my mouth is dry and everything's fuzzy and the room won't stop moving," Tony explained. "I only had a mouthful." He continued weakly.

Gibbs went to take the glass. Tony still felt the presence of mind to take the glass out of his reach. "DiNozzo!" Gibbs shouted.

"Poison," Tony told him once again and moved the glass away from Gibbs. That was the drink he had gotten for his Boss so of course he'd want to drink his drink. "Ducky… Test… it. No," Tony said as he tried to hand the drink to Ducky.

"Don't worry DiNozzo." Gibbs said softly with concern. "I'm not going to drink it," he reassured the senior field agent.

This seemed to put Tony's mind at ease. Gibbs took the glass from Tony and handed it to Ducky. "Paramedics are on their way," someone called out.

Tony tried to lift his head up and fought to sit. He tried to move from his precarious position, only the find that everything, once again started to spin. "I need a drink," Tony croaked out. His mouth and lips were dry. Once again he licked them.

"We can't allow you to drink anything Anthony until we find out what's in your system," Ducky explained.

By now a crowd surrounded the agent. Fornell, Harm and Gibbs picked Tony up and brought him down the stairs, Tony sighed as they eased onto his back. One thing that seemed to be going well was that the internal heat had died down. Unfortunately though, it seemed to now settle in a place where it wasn't needed, Tony's lungs, affecting his breathing.

Tony coughed hard, his body convulsed each time. "Now, I really do feel like Bond," Tony's eyes closed, it was too much of an effort to keep them open. He made an effort to tear open his shirt. Ducky brushed Tony's hand away and removed the bow tie before loosening the collar.

"Damn it, DiNozzo," Gibbs cursed. "Only you can walk into a room full of federal agents and people of high security and have somebody try to kill you," he said to nobody in particular. All he could do was wait for the paramedics to arrive.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: Special thanks to my little Kangaroo Paw. Without her, this probably wouldn't have made sense_**

* * *

_**BALLROOM BLITZ 2**_

Fornell was the first to jump into action. "Nobody leaves," he ordered. "Secure all possible exits," The order was followed by all the agency people. They obeyed quickly, locking down the area so no one could get in or leave.

Normally, Gibbs would have fought for control over the situation since it was one of his agents. But due to his concern for his man being down, he willingly relinquished control to Fornell… For now.

"Sacks! Set up some tables," Fornell ordered his right hand man.

Sacks followed the instructions given. He and DiNozzo never got along, but to Sacks this wasn't about DiNozzo, it was about what happened right in front of them. It could have happened to either one of them. He watched Ducky put a tablecloth over the tables before he and Gibbs lifted Tony onto them.

Fornell spared a look at Gibbs, knowing the concern for his second in command. He also knew that Jethro was thinking along the same thing lines he would have, if this had been his second that was down. They were friends and a lot alike, considered the bastards of their agencies. This also made it easier to know what his friend was thinking. Though DiNozzo was Gibbs Senior Field agent, he was also a victim who had somehow been poisoned in a room filled with Federal personal. The thought was inconceivable. He did his job along with watching other's doing their jobs. Seeing the looks from the other Federal agents, he was sure they felt the same way. How could this happen in a room filled with Government people and why not someone higher up?

"DiNozzo," Gibbs tried to keep Tony conscious and focused. The seriousness was now becoming more visible as Tony's face becoming flushed. "Tony?"

"Huh?" Tony asked. It felt like he was drifting a million miles away. The air seemed to dry his lips and mouth more. The air had also grown heavier, making it harder to breathe, and he felt worse. "I really need a drink. I'm so dry," he said.

Ducky briskly walked to his side. "Suck on this Anthony," he placed an ice cube on the younger man's lips. He moved it around to moisten them and let a little into melt into Tony's mouth, "You're dehydrated," he answered the unfocused eyes before he grimly looked at Gibbs.

"I couldn't find any towels," Harm explained, his white jacket only partially covered his bare chest since Harm hadn't bothered to rebutton his jacket. He folded his dripping shirt and then gave it to the ME, who placed it over Tony's forehead. "If that's all, I'm going to assist the FBI," Harm nodded to the two men.

"He's getting worse Duck," Gibbs said, his eyes still focused with worry on Tony. "It would've been quicker if I got him in the car and drove myself," the worry came out in his voice, the worry and fear that got to him.

"Here they come now," someone called out as they led the paramedics down the steps.

"Suspected poisoning by unknown substance," Ducky began relaying the information. "Equilibrium problem, complaining of blurred vision, extreme heat, he's dehydrated and I do believe he has a high temperature," he gave the paramedic the run down of symptoms, and wasn't surprised at how calm he sounded. After all, the ME had many years of experience in dealing with almost every health issue imaginable. This, and how professional he was, helped him to stay in control of these situations.

"Any underlying medical conditions we need to know about?" The paramedic asked.

"He's prone to respiratory complications," Ducky answered.

Gibbs watched as they hoisted Tony onto the gurney. It hurt to realize there was nothing he could do, yet. He reached for his cell. "You ride with them Duck, keep me updated," he said.

"You're not going?" Ducky asked a little surprised.

"Just go," Gibbs ordered, before he started speaking into his cell. "Abbs, Get down to the lab now and get everything going," he ordered without letting Abby get a word in any way.

After he quickly hung up with Abby, Gibbs bit his bottom lip hard. _Well, Jenny was right… This interagency ball has improved the cooperation between the agencies_. Gibbs thought wryly.

* * *

_**Bethesda**_

The trip had taken longer than Ducky would have liked. He watched Tony's condition deteriorate quickly. The vomiting in the ambulance, the state of confusion which seemed to occasionally turn into agitation, told Ducky that Tony decline was worse due to fear.

Tony's eyes snapped open. He recognized the hospital right away while the walls blurred by him as they rushed into emergency. _No, no, no!_ Tony's mind screamed. He reached out and grabbed on fiercely to the first person he could. He fisted the jacket as tightly as his body would allow. His vision was so poor it was impossible to tell who he held. "Don't take me to the chamber," Tony begged with a threatening tone. He didn't want that, he didn't want that ever again and they better listen. He wasn't going there, there meant death and being alone. Not being very lucid that was all that swam in his mind.

"Anthony," Ducky was almost pulled onto the gurney from fear induced adrenaline that allowed Tony to lift himself up a little. "Settle down. You are not going there, dear boy," the urgent but gentle voice assured Tony.

_Only two people call me that. And one I know would never be here. This has to be Ducky, went through Tony's jumbled mind. _"Duck," his head hit the pillow. "Don't let them take me there," he was almost pleading. "Not the chamber," his voice hitched with fear.

"We're not taking you there," Ducky repeated, trying to put the young man's mind at rest. He had to make this clear through the younger man's hazy mind. He had to get through to Tony or his behavior would only make matters worse. "Relax, Anthony," he continued a couple of times. It didn't take much to undo the grip Tony still had him in.

* * *

_**NCIS HQ**_

Jenny had noticed Gibbs had entered NCIS. She couldn't make it to the ball due to one of those late night MTAC meetings. It was a shock to see Gibbs messily dressed in the tuxedo that she had brought for him. "Jethro," She ran in order to catch up with him and then grabbed him by the arm.

"I have to go Jen," Gibbs shrugged her off, quickly. "Something has come up."

"Jethro," Jenny said in an annoyed tone. "I understand you're mad, but I had no choice," she explained as much as she felt was needed.

Gibbs shook his head. "I really have to go," he said, unwilling to spend the time explaining the situation. "You can help and get hold of Ziva and McGee. Tell them to get down to the ballroom and they'll get filled in. There's a case to work on," he vaguely explained while on his way down to the Lab.

"Is there something I should know Agent Gibbs?" Jenny reverted to an official tone. That was something she usually did when her patience had run out. Right now, it was running very thin.

"We've got a situation... Just get Ziva and McGee to the ballroom and let it go from there," Gibbs told her, more sternly. "Madam Director," he added to let her know that he received the official tone, loud and clear.

"I expect to be updated Agent Gibbs," Jenny responded. She was annoyed that he didn't fill her in, but also worried by how rushed he was. She needed to know what was going on and would find out one way or another, she firmly thought.

"There'll be no problem with that," Gibbs said as he left the area to head to the lab.

* * *

**ABBY'S LAB**

Abby had waited for him to arrive as he knew she would. And, he was thankful that she seemed patient. "Thanks for coming in Abbs," he said earnestly, "I know you're supposed to have the night off..."

"Anything for you Bossman," Abby explained and looked at Gibbs' hands. They held a glass in an evidence bag and a closed bottle that contained the drink. This way the fluid wouldn't spill on the way in. "Hmm. This must be serious," Abby commented as she walked to her small fridge and pulled out the spare Caf Pow. "What do you need, Big Bossman?" She inquired.

"I need you to find out what's in this drink and here's the glass in case there are prints on it. Tony's and the bartender will be on it, be on it. But I need to know what chemical is in the drink, first, ASAP," Gibbs answered flatly.

"A Martini?" Abby asked. Making the joke was a reflex action. She took the glass along with the closed bottle and placed it on the desk next to her machines. As soon as she put them down Gibbs tapped her lightly on the back of the head. "Bossman!" She exclaimed but realized for him to act like that, that this had to be something important. She ignored the out of character action. "Are you going to tell me what this is about? Is Tony in trouble, again? Or Ducky?" Abby asked, her voice filled with concern.

"Get the tests done... Call me on my cell. It doesn't matter what time, just get it done, I'll explain later, I promise." Gibbs ordered.

"On it Big Bossman," Abby responded. Gibbs was already heading out. Abby frowned. She knew this was definitely trouble. When her Bossman was that focused, it never meant anything good. _Something isn't right, it's definitely wrong... I'll find out when I call him next. Bossman won't get off the phone until he tells me. I just hope it's not Tony and if it is he'll be alright._

* * *

_**Bethesda...**_

The minute the words flashed across his pager... 'DiNozzo Sick'. Brad had paid his bill at the restaurant and hurried to the hospital and to the room where Tony had been taken to. He'd been informed of which room as soon as Brad had arrived.

Brad's heart skipped a beat when he entered the room to see that Tony was vomiting over the side of the bed. This wasn't quite the worse the Doctor had seen him, but it brought back memories that he'd rather have forgotten. "What happened?" The second person he recognized in the room was Ducky. "Doctor Mallard," Brad said while he shifted past the other doctor and a nurse.

"He's ingested something poisonous," Ducky answered. "Jethro has taken the sample to our laboratory for testing," he explained. "Symptoms... Vomiting, fever, blurred vision, and he complained about felling like his insides were on fire. Also he's drifting in and out of consciousness, and I'm afraid he was also experiencing trouble with his lungs," he listed everything that Tony had said and the ME had seen, "also, at first he had a major equilibrium problem too." Ducky quickly added as he remembered Tony stumbling against the wall and then the stairs.

Brad licked his teeth. "Where did this happen?" He asked. Maybe the environment could provide some clue, plus he was also curious. The last time he'd treated the NCIS agent, he had contracted the plague in a federal building.

"He was at an Inter-Agency Ball," Ducky said flatly.

"He got poisoned at an Inter-Agency Ball?" Brad asked incredulously. He wasn't exactly sure what that was, but safely assumed that there had been a lot of agents in attendance, judging by the name.

"Jesus... Was his mother a Murphy?" Brad asked. "What can go wrong will go wrong?"

It was clearly visible that Tony was dangerously dehydrated. The vomiting hadn't helped either. But following protocol he and Ducky had sat the back of the gurney a little more, not sitting, just in a raised position

And then took his blood pressure as he lay there. As predicted, Tony went from half conscious to fully unconscious, his body lolled on the gurney. They'd gotten an IV drip into his arm to push fluids through him. A nurse came in and placed a damp cloth on Tony's forehead to cool his temperature, which was just over 102 degrees. Too cool him down even more they put a cooling blanket on him and turned it on to the degree that Doctor Pitt ordered. They didn't want his temperature going up if they could help it. But Brad knew with this poison, the temperature could rise even with the cooling blanket. And also they had to time the blanket to watch that it didn't affect his limbs, or if the temperature went down to take it off so that he wouldn't become hypothermic.

* * *

Gibbs had received an update from Doctor Pitt and Ducky. He sat down beside the bed where he stayed for awhile. Right now, Abby was identifying the substance.... Ziva and McGee were on their way or already at the ballroom so that just left him and he was right where he needed to be. Tony's head began to stir as his eyes opened ever so slightly. This didn't go unnoticed by Gibbs.

"DiNozzo?" Gibbs said softly.

Tony moaned. "Mmm. Was drinking... Salty water made him sick," Tony said absently. "Almost dead... Defillelator... Wire detached," he mumbled. Tony thought for a moment before continuing. "Wire detached, it didn't work, my man died... I'm all ears Mmm," his eyes closed.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Ballroom Blitz Chapter Three**_

"What's that DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked. He couldn't make any sense of what Tony had said. The repetition of words was like a code which needed to be deciphered, "DiNozzo," Gibbs repeated. "What wires? What's a defillelator?" That one word shook him and it seemed to be the most important of all the words, so important it stuck painfully out in his mind.

"M… M… M!" Tony wasn't lucid. He seemed to be randomly calling out.

This action was something that took the usually calm Gibbs by surprise. Sure, there had been situations in the past when he'd seen Tony pretty out of it. And that was usually after a good dose of pain pills. Tony didn't react well to pain pills which made him quite high and was usually rather funny, before he'd fall asleep… This was different… This was serious.

"A defillerator?" Tony could feel his mind focusing on the one word. Thinking at least the one word would make more sense and he knew he said it along with some other words. Frustration filled his weary head. Why wasn't the other guy listening to him?

"DiNozzo…" Gibbs said.

"Defibrillator?" Brad asked after he stepped in to the room. He wasn't sure what the conversation was about. He did however hazard a guess on what the current topic was.

"Yeah-huh," Tony said trying to keep his mind on what he was saying. "Defillelator. Not working… Wires detached," he kept trying to get the words out only to feel his mind floating, circling in several directions. "Salty water… Sick… Tux. It's weird though, a drink almost kills you and it becomes your favorite drink," Tony went silent again.

Gibbs frowned as he watched Brad look at Tony's chart. The doctor then went to check the catheter for urine output and then walked around to recheck the IV drip. He then checked the monitors for Tony's heart rate, Blood pressure, oxygen level in his blood and his breathing rate. "What were you talking about, or trying to talk to Tony about?" Brad noticed that Gibbs hadn't realized that he had vocalized his thoughts.

The doctor didn't say anything at first, but was biting back a chuckle. That was obvious. "What did he say before I came in?" Brad asked, trying to help out the gruff agent.

"He was going on about a broken defibrillator that wouldn't work because of a detached wire and how someone put it together… Or something like that. And how drinking salty water made him sick," Gibbs bemusedly explained what Tony had said to him.

Brad Pitt chuckled slightly. He saw Gibbs glare and silenced the sudden outburst by a quick cough to cover the small laugh. "Sorry, Agent Gibbs," Brad said. "But what he was going on about was… Casino Royale. Hell, I can't believe he's talking about movies in this state… Bond was playing cards and ordered a martini… It was poisoned. So when he was feeling the effects, Bond grabbed a salt shaker and glass. Filled it with water to and all the salt to induce vomiting," he took a deep breath and began again. "Bond went to his car and somehow got a sample back to base. Yada yada yada. They start explaining to Bond what to do… He says. "I'm all ears" right at the last minute he was supposed to press the button of his defibrillator after hooking it up… But it didn't work, turns out that a wire detached itself from the cup. His heart stopped but fortunately the girl had come out and attached the wire and revived him," Brad looked at Gibbs who was still clearly lost. "You're not a fan of James Bond? I would've pegged you as a Bond fan," he said honestly.

"Harrison Ford," Gibbs replied. The only movies he really got into were Harrison Ford movies. Especially Air Force One. He remembered when he first met Kate Todd on the real Air Force One. During the whole time he had used the movie to try and figure out the case. That was something that Tony did a lot with a case and it usually worked. Christ, he must have sounded like Tony back then with his movie references. But Gibbs loved the Harrison Ford action movies… Especially, when he played Jack Ryan. _Oh shit, I __**am**__ starting to sound like DiNozzo._ Gibbs thought bitterly.

"Harrison Ford was never Bond," Tony slurred slightly. "Proven shishkebabs are bad for health," he added.

Gibbs didn't know whether to laugh or head slap the senior field agent. Instead he chose to do nothing. "You're beginning to sound better." He told Tony. It wasn't totally the truth, but being positive couldn't hurt, he thought.

* * *

_**Ballroom…**_

McGee waited outside the ballroom. He had been under strict orders to wait until Ziva arrived; only she was later than he'd expected.

The car pulled up to the front and she stepped out. "What is this about?" Ziva asked with some annoyance. She had her whole weekend mapped out. Though for the case, she quickly put the annoyance aside.

"I don't know," McGee answered with a shrug. "All I was told was to get in here and I'd be filled in," he added.

"Me too," Ziva replied. "The Director called me and said I must report back to her right after we are done here." It was already shaping up to be a really long night. _It had to be serious that was for sure._

"I was told the same thing," McGee responded as they walked into the ballroom and down the stairs, "looks like we missed out on one hell of a party," he said with a certain amount of sarcasm. He noticed that there were agents from the whole alphabet around the area. Some were sitting at desks talking to a few people and others were talking to higher ups. McGee cringed when he saw Fornell pacing around the tables. He reminded McGee of Gibbs, the way he looked like a caged animal that was ready to pounce.

"Agent Fornell," McGee greeted. He had expected to be greeted in the usual FBI way.

"Agent McGee… Officer David," Fornell responded. "I'll fill you in… DiNozzo has been poisoned, taken to the hospital. Gibbs had taken the glass and its contents back to NCIS to see what the poison was and maybe finger prints," Fornell noted the quizzical look in McGee's eyes. "When a federal agent is poisoned in front of a group of federal agencies, jurisdiction goes out the window. Have you got any notepads or anything? It's getting difficult keeping notes in order with napkins," Fornell said.

"First is Tony alright?" Ziva asked noting that Tim was listening too.

"Don't know. Haven't heard from Gibbs, yet. He's with Dinotzo at the hospital." Fornell told DiNozzo's team mates. Ziva and Tim both shook their heads, "He'll call and let us know. Right now we have an investigation to run. Now, note pads?" Fornell gave them the short version and then got back to the business at hand.

"Right here," Ziva answered while pulling out a notebook. She noticed Tim taking out his PDA, "What do you have so far?" They needed to be brought up to speed with everything.

"Not much," Fornell was annoyed. A room filled with all different federal agents and they didn't have much. He walked them over to the tables where the different agents were interviewing the staff. "So far we don't have any clear cut motive. Also, we're not a hundred percent sure if DiNozzo was the intended target or if it was meant for someone else or if it was just a random act," Fornell clarified. He moved closer to the tables, his eyes connected with what he wanted and then he grabbed them. "Here the napkins that the have the interviews written on," he placed them on the desk in front of Ziva and Tim.

The Agents began transcribing what was on the napkins into the notebooks and PDA as quickly as they could. "Did you bring your equipment for the crime scene?" Fornell asked.

"We weren't exactly told that this was a crime scene," McGee explained and was given a cold stare by Fornell. It wasn't as intimidating as one of Gibbs' stares, but it was enough to make McGee immediately change his tune. "I have a set in the trunk of the car," he left the room to get the cases from the trunk.

"So any leads at all?" Ziva asked directly.

"No," Fornell was resigned. "Though there are a couple of people we are taking back to the FBI for further interviews or if needed, interrogations," he explained.

"Take them back to NCIS. It will be quicker, no?" Ziva suggested strongly. She expected to get an argument over her comment. NCIS was the only real choice, after all this was one of their own who had been poisoned. And she really wanted to ask how Tony got into this mess, but thought better of it, for now. Fornell had already explained that Gibbs would call once he found out how Tony was.

"You're right," Fornell answered. Hearing this, an expression of shock quickly passed over Ziva's face only to be hid a second later.

FBI and NCIS were well known for their professional disagreements. They were standing in unfamiliar territory. "We'll get them down there… JAG!" Fornell barked. It was impossible to remember all the names. He found it easier to refer to the different organizations by name and go from there. "We need a lawyer," Fornell said coldly. For the moment they were using JAG lawyers to advise them if they were overstepping boundaries with their questioning or any other legal information.

"What are we looking for?" McGee asked once he re-entered.

"They said that DiNotzo was saying the Martini was poisoned," Fornell answered. That's what everyone had clearly stated.

"Right," McGee said as he hid the smile successfully. Of course, Tony was going to a black suit and tie event. What else would he drink? "We'll get the evidence sorted out," McGee assured the aggravated FBI agent. Both NCIS agents went behind the bar after they saw some other agency agents file out. "What's in a martini?" McGee looked thoughtfully at the bottles.

"You mean with all the years you have worked with Tony, you do not know what is in a Martini?" Ziva asked. The revelation surprised her.

"I zone out when Tony starts talking about James Bond," McGee shrugged.

"Gin, Vodka and Vermouth," Ziva told him. "Better grab that… that _stranger _and those green olives," Ziva told him.

"Stranger?" McGee stopped and looked up to see where Ziva was pointing. "Strainer… Is that used to make a Martini?" He couldn't see how it was used to make the drink, but they bagged and tagged everything to do with the making of the Martini, including all the bottles of the alcohol. And then took photos of all that was bagged. They then photographed the course Tony took all the way to the stairs, which Fornell and Harm walked them through.

* * *

_**BETHESDA**_

Even sitting around and looking out for Tony wasn't helping Gibbs' agitation. He soon left the hospital to work on the case, he needed it solved. He also knew that he had to find out the poison in order to help his Agent get better. He ordered Ducky to keep him informed hourly or in case anything changed. It was difficult to resist the urge to call Abby, she was the one he was waiting for to give them the name of the poison. Still, he wanted an update on the tests she was running on the poison and the prints. He fought it down, after years of working with the lab tech, he knew the minute there were any results she'd call.

"How's it looking?" Ducky asked. Tony had gone from unconscious to sleeping which was clearly better, the ME noted to himself. What had Ducky worried was that Anthony still looked extremely sick, pale and weak. He looked up at the monitors and knew that the readings weren't normal. Doctor Pitt and his team were keeping the poison at bay, but weren't able to give an anti-dote to a poison they didn't have a name to. The nurses had taken blood to test. Ducky figured between Abby and the hospital lab one of them would find what the poison was.

"We've managed to keep the Fever steady," Brad answered as he checked over the notes. I've sent blood samples for a CBC and blood panel," he explained. "We are of course pushing fluids through the body… But compared to the amount of water he's taking in… The output is low and discolored still," he said grimly.

Ducky had a feeling of déjà vu as he stood next to Brad. "His body is holding onto all the fluid it can. This will lead to kidney failure and organ shut down, if the poison isn't identified in time." Ducky said as if in translation, though he had just thought about this before Brad had spoken to him.

"Yes, it could. I just hope your people or our lab can find this poison and quickly so we can treat him. I don't know how long we can keep him like this before the poison starts to continue." Brad sighed and gave a worried look to Ducky.

Again Ducky found himself thinking thoughts of the obvious. After conferring with Doctor Pitt on what he had already known, the worry was more intense. They had to find out the mixture that Tony had ingested and then treat it from there. The two doctors had already stated that it was unknown how long the body could last this way. Thank God Tony only took a mouthful.

"Has he been awake?" Ducky asked.

"He was awake, but wasn't lucid," Brad answered.

Tony's eyes opened and looked around. _I'm in a normal room, not the isolation chamber?_ He quickly observed. His headache had woken him up. The pounding was like a set of drums. His confused mind wondered if the whole drum section from that night was inside his head, it sure seemed like it. He didn't dared move, between the pounding drums along with his stiff and sore neck. Brad Pitt and Ducky were standing at the foot of the bed. Slowly, he turned his head to the side, in that instance he squeezed his eyes closed for a moment. He couldn't help it when he felt the huge drum sticks pound down hard on the drum skins. When he was able to open his eyes he noted that the two doctors were the only ones there. Despite the headache, Tony was determined to try and sit up.

"Don't do that Anthony," Ducky warned as he put both hands on Tony's chest and pushed hard to hold him down.

"Gibbs?" Tony asked. "What about Gibbs? I got the drink for him," he couldn't remember much since he had tried to climb the steps in order to reach Gibbs. All Tony knew was clouded in his mind. He did think he had been trying to bring the poisoned drink he ordered to his boss. Even with the horrible pain, Tony shook his head to try and clear the picture. "The drink was with him," he panicked.

"Jethro is alright Anthony. You told him about the drink. Don't you remember?" Ducky asked. "He didn't drink it," Ducky assured him, trying to calm the younger man down. Once Brad took over Ducky stepped back and reached for his cell.

"You don't remember chatting with Agent Gibbs?" Brad asked while biting down on his lip to stop a smile. He had gotten all the information from that night and now was using it to see how Tony's memory was.

"No," Tony answered.

"Not surprising that you don't… You weren't very lucid," Brad explained. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit of a headache," Tony answered and downplayed how he felt. He didn't want to tell the doctor about the whole drum section that pounded in his head. Even with how horrible Tony felt his investigating skills took over, it was second nature. Brad was definitely holding something back. "I see it on your face. I said something stupid, didn't I? Oh God. What?" Tony asked the doctor.

Brad laughed. "You went on and on about Casino Royale and sent Gibbs head in a spin. I had to explain the whole CR poison scene to Agent Gibbs until he finally made heads and tails out of it," He explained to Tony.

_Doesn't sound too bad._ "That doesn't sound like all of it," Tony said with trepidation.

"Well, Agent Gibbs said he was more of a Harrison Ford fan," Brad paused for a moment before continuing. "And then you spent quite a bit of time trying to convince him that Harrison Ford never played Bond and talked about how bad shishkebabs were for your health," the doctor couldn't help but smile. "Then you eventually said he was an idiot for getting Indiana Jones and James Bond mixed up," Brad finished off.

"So is Gibbs fine then?" Tony asked, he needed to know that Gibbs hadn't drunk any of the poison. He didn't remember Ducky telling him a few minutes before that Tony had warned Gibbs the drink wasn't touched.

Brad realized that his patient wasn't thinking clearly enough to remember what Ducky had told him. "He didn't drink the poison. From what I understand as weak as you were you wouldn't allow him to touch it." Brad reassured Tony that Gibbs was fine and that Tony done a good job at keeping the drink away from his boss.

Tony tried to think about what Brad had said through the tempo of the steady tribal beat that pulverized his head. And then it hit him, oh God what had he done? "How long is it before he's going to kill me?" He added seriously which clearly wasn't a joke. There was no way in hell he'd call his boss an idiot. _What the hell was I thinking or not thinking? He moaned._

"Jethro's on the phone," Ducky handed his cell to Tony. "He wants to talk to you," Ducky added.

_Oh, shit!_ "Hey Boss?" Tony said tentatively.

"How are you doing DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked. He sounded genuinely concerned.

_This is just pleasantries before he reaches through the cell and tears your throat out._ Tony swallowed hard. "Weak, headache and dizzy," Tony figured that it was best to be honest. "Other than having poison in my system I really feel **fine**."

Tony heard Gibbs sigh and he winced. "You're not fine, DiNozzo. Now you're not going to give them a hard time are you?" He asked with an undercurrent of an order.

"Wouldn't dream of it Boss. I'm sorry," Tony suddenly blurted out and that caught the attention of Ducky and Brad. "I didn't know what I was saying. I don't even remember it. I'd never call you an idiot," Tony defended the actions he couldn't remember. "Really sorry Boss," he added and winced in pain along with dread.

"Stop apologizing, DiNozzo," Gibbs sighed again. "I know you were out of it. Because I doubt that you'd ever think I'd mix up Indy and Bond, ever. Now you look out for yourself ok? You did good kid," Gibbs had hoped that that movie reference didn't go unnoticed.

"Yeah Boss," Tony said. "I will," _I'm going to get it when I get better._

"And do everything you're told to. And Tony… no heroics, ok?" Gibbs said before closing the cell and cutting off the call.

Tony handed the cell over to Ducky before lying back down. "Take these," Brad said and handed him some water with a couple of pills. "These are for the headache and a light sedative," he explained the reason for the pills to Tony. He knew his patient hated taking any medication he didn't know. When he was coherent he had always asked what they were and did when he had the plague. "Don't worry, they're only mild and you need to sleep." Brad also knew about the odd reaction to painkillers that Tony experienced and that the light sedative would help the reaction to the other pills. His patient needed sleep and he was sure Tony wasn't done asking questions. By the time he was the pills would take affect. Brad was glad that he remembered the quirks his patient had and that they were all written in his file. The file was thick and the more Tony was hospitalized the file would get even bigger and would need its own filing cabinet.

"Thanks," Tony replied as he downed the pills. He suddenly realized that every time he tried to move there was something tugging at his body. "Am I strapped to the bed?" He queried about the reason why he felt like he couldn't move. That, of course wasn't the reason.

"You have a catheter strapped down your leg to a bag. We need to measure the output of urine. You have an heparin lock, it's more permanent and allows the IV into your blood stream, it also lets us piggie back any thing else we need to add," Brad was pointing around to the different places to make sure Tony saw he was telling him the truth.. "Also you're attached to a monitor to read different levels. One is a blood pressure cuff that will go off every fifteen minutes, there are wires attached to your chest, arms and legs, using leads for your heart and breathing rate. You also have a pulse ox on your finger reading your oxygen level. All the wires go to the monitor." Brad pointed to the monitor as he explained everything to Tony, showing which one he was reading as he spoke and all the wires, "You understand now? You may feel tied down and in a way you are. You have to be careful with your movements so you don't detach any of the leads. We need to see how you're doing, observe you incase you go into distress. To do this the readings are fed to the front desk so someone is always watching them. You were on oxygen but you've been taken off of that. Plus, we've taken blood, that's why you have the gaze taped to your inner elbow." The voice was soft and caring.

"A lot of this I remember from when I had the plague." Tony said thoughtfully.

"Yes, you're right. You had all of this back then, only you don't need to be in isolation. But, I have to be honest with you, Tony, " Brad put a gentle hand on Tony's shoulder, "we don't know yet what the poison is, so we don't know what to expect. You could go back into unconsciousness, not be lucid, it could affect your kidneys in which we'd put you on Dialysis right away. And, it could try to shut down your other organs. Like a hurricane, some poisons have a period that make it look like you're getting better and then hits harder and quicker. I'm hoping that's not the case. Hopefully we'll know soon what the poison is and thankfully you didn't have the whole glass, just a gulp." Brad looked at Tony taking everything he said in, "any questions?"

Ducky had been listening the whole time to the kind and gentle way Doctor Pitt explained all the equipment along with what the dangers where with the poison. He was impressed and didn't interrupt as Tony took all that was said to him and thought about it.

"I guess the band didn't follow me to the hospital." Tony soberly stated.

"The band?" Brad looked questionably at Tony and then Ducky.

"No Anthony, but I suspect it feels as if the drum section is playing just for you in your head. It reminds me of a story. I was in Africa amongst the tribes and the best…….."

"Ducky, please?" Tony softly whined feeling the drum section beat loudly in his head. The last thing he needed was to be reminded of it.

Brad saw the pain, exhaustion and how pale Tony was. He glanced over to Ducky. "I think we should let Tony sleep, the pills are starting to work on him."

Ducky nodded as both of the doctors noticed that Tony was drifting off as they quietly walked out of the room.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Ballroom Blitz4**_

"How's your boy doing Jethro?" Tobias asked as Gibbs walked alongside of him towards the elevator.

"I was talking with Tony over the phone… He's a lot more with it than when we last spoke," Gibbs let out a pent up chuckle but then he looked grim. "I just got to go down to Abby and get an update and fill her in on how Tony's doing." He explained when they got into the elevator. If he put it off any longer, Abby would surely have his head.

Tobias placed his hands in his pocket as the elevator went down. "We need to get a positive ID so we can find whoever this was and then nail him. We also need to find out why and who the poison was intended for," He vocalized what they were thinking.

Gibbs nodded as they stepped into the Abby's Lab. "Whatcha got for me, Abs?" Gibbs asked the minute he got with in talking range.

"Wow Gibbs!" Abby was startled a little. "You must really be psychic. Well not psychic exactly… You would've been totally if you'd been here," Abby checked her watch, "sixteen minutes ago. I tried calling you but you weren't picking up so either you were in MTAC or you left your cell in your desk… Again. You know you really shouldn't do that." Abby chastised her boss, knowing she was the only one that could get away with it.

"Take a breath, Abs," Gibbs said. "You're right… Now again, what have you got for me, Abs?" he held her head still so he could look into her eyes. "I'll send McGee down to you if you need him to help," he told her. Abby reached around and placed something in Gibbs' hand. "Abs," His reaction was somewhat comical.

"I don't need him for the prints." She assured him. "You give Bert to Tony," Abby said. "I can't go and see him now, but in this way I'll be there and he'll know that I'm thinking of him. And you'll call me right? I mean about Tony and tell him I'll be there as soon as I can?" She asked.

"Abs!" Gibbs shouted. He was trying to get her thoughts back on the subject, which wasn't an easy task. "What. Have. You. Got?" He said slowly.

"Oh right," Abby answered. "It wasn't a straight forward poison used, Gibbs. More like a cocktail. A mixture. I've sent the results to the Bethesda team. They'll be able to mix up the antidote and they can give it to him. You'll be going to see him right? Will you? Can you tell him I'm thinking of him?" She breathed deeply.

Gibbs knew how close the two were. They remind him of an older protective brother and a sister who adore her brother, "Yeah, I'll call you and tell him for you." He added.

"I'll see him as soon as I can. I got to get fingerprints analysis as well as anything else." She finished and looked over at the other man for the first time. "Oh hey Tobey," Abby greeted the FBI agent as if she'd just noticed him.

Tobias screwed up his face at the lab tech when she called him, Toby. Abby shrugged, "Well, Tony calls you that and it makes me feel closer to him." She explained.

"You aren't DiNotso and he just does it to be a smart ass." Forneell grunted.

"Well, ok then." Abby looked away and tried to hide her smile. She'd say it again, just like she knew Tony would if he were here and heard what Fornell said. She then turned her attention back to Gibbs to hear what he was about to say to her question and explanation.

"Will do," Gibbs assured her. "That's great work Abs. And even though you don't need him I WILL get McGee to run the prints. I want you to get some sleep." She'd been working hard through the night and sounded like she had overdosed on Caf Pow. She really needed some sleep, he thought. It seemed funny whenever he though about it, but Abby was like a daughter to him and Tony was like his son. It just made it more natural that they were like brother and sister. He mused about it for a moment before getting back to business.

"I can," Abby began to say.

"Alright… Start up the finger doohickey and then sleep," Gibbs told her.

"Yes…And don't forget what I said about Tony, my silver fox." She smiled. "See you later Bossman and Tobey," Abby replied as she watched them leave.

Tobey grunted in response as he turned to leave as the thought hit him. First Tony had called him that which he hated, and now Abby. Well, he saw the same connection that his friend did. The brother/sister thing. He hated that Abby had called him that, since it reminded him of breakfast bars.

Both men gave a quick, yet full update to Jenny along with McGee and Ziva. They wanted to make sure that everyone was brought up to speed before leaving. They needed to go back to Bethesda. Hopefully they could get a positive ID on any of the suspects, or any information, since Tony hadn't been questioned yet. Maybe Tony had seen something that seemed out of place.

* * *

_**Bethesda**_

Brad was still drying his hair when he noticed Gibbs and the others approach. "Agent Gibbs," Brad said with a smile. Well, what wasn't there to smile about? They'd administered the antidote. It was only a matter of time before both the anti-dote and the fluids they'd been replacing worked. That and the fact that his hair was still dripping wet must have made him look ridiculous. One of the other men was definitely a Fed and the tall guy looked like he was part of the navy. "Sorry, we had to use a cooling blanket to get Tony's fever down," Brad gave Gibbs an update. "Well Tony had gotten worse, but is improving as we speak since injecting the antidote," Brad explained.

"What happened to you?" Gibbs asked as he looked at the doctor drying his hair.

"Unfortunately, I got in the way of Tony's Linda Blair impersonation," Brad shrugged. He had been doing his routine check up. That's when Tony had gotten worse and turned his head to the dominant left side and in doing so vomited all that was in his stomach. Brad's uniform was stained heavily due to being along side the agent and then became the target of the unwanted contents of Tony's stomach.

"Now?" Gibbs asked.

"He's stabilized for now," Brad answered. "As I say though, he is improving. We still have him hooked up to everything so we can still monitor him while the anti-dote take affect. We need to watch and make sure how his body reacts." he said.

"We need to ask him a few important questions," Gibbs said, the small frown stopped his train of thought. "He's unconscious, asleep, what?" The lead agent's impatience was coming through in his voice.

"Well, he began cramping up badly. I had to give him some pain meds to ease it up. And, I had to also give him Donatal, a medication to stop the cramping. Usually I'd give him sedatives along with the pain meds to ease his reactions but, thought it best not to since I gave him the other medicine. It also has some sedate effects. Also we need to monitor his progress accurately," Brad explained. "Well at times, as you pointed out already agent Gibbs, Tony doesn't react well to painkillers and he's a bit," the young doctor thought for a moment before finishing what he was going to say, "how should I say this? He tends to act a little loopy from any pain medications," he added, using layman's terms which were better understood when he wasn't talking to other doctors. "I mean he's..."

"Like you said it's not the first time I've seen DiNozzo on painkillers," Gibbs responded. "I'm sure we'll be able to get what we (need from him," he explained not only to Brad but the other men as well. He wanted them to understand what Tony would be like when they saw him.

Gibbs, Fornell and Harm walked into the room. At first they thought Tony was asleep since he was just lying there, he opened his eyes slightly. His vision blurred, badly and, Tony could only make out the shapes that stood there. At least he felt better, somewhat. "Whenever there is injustice you will find us… Wherever there is suffering we'll be there… Wherever liberty is threatened you will find the three Amigos," he quoted with a slight grin.

Fornell and Harm looked at each other and then at Gibbs. "You know who we are?" Gibbs attempted to fathom how far out of it Tony was. The agent and painkillers never mixed well with him. He went through stages and then would fall to sleep.

"Three B L?" Tony raised his eyebrows.

"Three B L?" Fornell asked. "What's three B L?"

"The Boss, who _is_, by the way, a bastard, and then of course the FBI, Bastard and a damn Lawyer. And they are bastards too," Tony answered while he pointed to each person. "Can I come and assist you with the case?" He asked.

Gibbs shook his head. He'd hoped that the other two didn't take too much notice or offense to what Tony was saying. He thought that Fornell wouldn't care. Harm? Now that was a different matter. They hadn't worked together before and really didn't know too much about what Harm was like outside the courtroom. If he was bothered by it, he didn't let it show.

"We do need your help, Tony," Gibbs said, hoping that using his name might help a bit, "we'd like to know if you recognize any of these people… Maybe behind the bar," he handed Tony a couple of photo printouts.

Tony took the photo printouts and looked at them closely. The others looked on hopefully. Tony squinted and tried to focus as much as he could on the pictures. It took a lot for his eyes to finally bring the pictures into focus. "Ah, no… Not Bond," he said lying the photo printouts down on his lap, "not Bond… Nope, no. Definitely not." Tony's hands closed around the printouts and brought them up from his lap and closer to his eyes. He sifted through the printouts once more.

"We're not here to find out who plays James Bond, DiNotzo," Fornell stated impatiently.

"Here!" Tony exclaimed loudly. "This guy here," he said enthusiastically as he handed it to Gibbs.

"Are you sure you recognize that guy from behind the bar, at the ball?" Gibbs asked. He knew Tony's state of mind and needed to make sure that this was a positive ID and not just the reaction of the painkillers.

"Yeah. You were there. So were those two," Tony said nodding at Fornell and Harm. "You know something? I think you should thank him," he pointed to Harm.

"Why would I ever thank Harmon Rabb?" Gibbs asked. It didn't come out the way he meant it to, it sounded badly. Harm lowered his head and tried not to laugh or say anything. "Why's that Tony?" Gibbs asked his drugged up agent, once again and used all the patience he could muster up.

"He stopped me from taking the drink to you," Tony answered, looking around.

"Hell I did," Harm said. "I was trying to stop you. You were falling all over the place. And all you did was shrug me off."

Tony looked at everyone before shrugging. "Hey, Boss, you think we can book out this room alone? You know without the extra houseguests," He said to his boss. "You think being frequent visitors we can get some privacy."

"We'll wait outside," Fornell said as he and Harm gave the two agents time alone.

"Did anyone else do a Bond impression or was it just me?" Tony asked, trying to keep his eyes open. "Nobody?"

"You're the only one." Gibbs answered. "Hey." Gibbs shook Tony to keep him as focused as he could. "Abs told me to give you this. Because she wanted to be here and she thought that this," Gibbs held up the strange stuffed pet and shook his head over the idea, "it's like her being here. She told me to tell you she'd be here as soon as she could." He placed Bert the Hippo on Tony's chest.

Tony took a look at the hippo and his smile broadened. "How is Q?" He asked. Gibbs was about to respond but his mouth stopped… Q? He had no idea what his senior field agent was trying to say.

"Q?" Gibbs asked. Again he thought how it seemed that whenever DiNozzo had strong painkillers it was a whole new game. He always felt like he was trying to decode what Tony was saying. Though with Tony, most of the time it was just plain nonsense that came out of his mouth.

Brad stood there watching the scene unfold without saying anything. Since becoming Tony's doctor and being associated with these NCIS agents, he often felt like he had to be a translator. Like Tony, Brad's taste in movies was a lot like his patient's. He loved to watch them when he had the time, which wasn't a lot these days. "Q was the scientist in the Bond movies. The one who always had the pretty little gadgets," Brad explained.

"Oh," Gibbs answered and then he realized who Tony had been talking about. He decided to calm the young man down by answering what he thought Tony wanted to know. The senior field agent was always concerned about the forensic scientist. He gave a small grin, the realization was so close to his heart, something he'd never tell anyone, except for Ducky, who already knew. Some how over the years, and he didn't know how, Abby and Tony had filled a void that was left by the deaths of Shannon and Kelly. Again, he thought about how close the two were, to each other and to him. "Abs is fine DiNozzo and so is everyone else," he told the younger man who was like a son to him.

Tony nodded. "I'm getting tired, Boss," Tony said, his voice was quiet and had that tired sound to it and his eyelids began drooping.

"Take care of your self, Kid," Gibbs patted and gave a slight stroke to his shoulder, like a father would. No one but Brad was around to witness this and, he didn't think Brad would say a word about it. He noticed the affect that his fatherly gesture had on Tony as he slid into a calm sleep. Gibbs smiled at that. He then put his mask on and turned around, nodded to the doctor and left.

Gibbs met up with Fornell and Harm, in the hallway by the room. Tobias and Harm had been talking intently.

"You do realize that, that identification is going to be inadmissible right?" Harm looked over at Gibbs. "It may have been accurate but with Agent DiNozzo being well, under the influence of powerful drugs.… The way he was… They'll get the doctor to testify to that," Harm said. "That's what I'd do… All that, in there, will be useless. It will never hold up in court." He explained and shook his head.

Gibbs knew Harm was right and so did Fornell. "Well we'll have to make this so watertight that we don't need Tony's ID… But right now we need any avenue to help us and one is that ID, usable in court or not, we can start there," Gibbs stated. "How long have we got until we have to start releasing people?" He asked.

Harm almost smiled as they talked. "That's the beauty of it… There was an attempt to kill Federal Agents. It's an act of terrorism so according to the law you can hold them indefinitely," he explained.

"Tobias… You go and see if you can dig up any connection between the suspects and any terrorist cell. Then we can at least say we're holding him so we can explore possible links and leads," Gibbs started putting together his scheme. It would have to do, until they could come up with something more on this person. He hoped this person would lead them to the top man and who was the target and why, "Harmon Rabb… You're with me," Gibbs ordered, he was in full agent mode. He wanted these people and knew the other men did too, "I need you legally, to make sure that we don't overstep our bounds," he explained. "Let's roll."


	5. Chapter 5

**BALLROOM BLITZ**

Harm sat across from Trent Clay. Trent was the person that Tony DiNozzo had fairly identified. All three men knew that the identification under the influence would not hold up in court. Agent Gibbs was adamant that it wouldn't be needed for court anyway. He was confident as the other two men. They'd get other names, something useful from this suspect that could be used in court.

"Glass of water?" Harm asked as he poured himself a glass.

Trent nodded in response. So Harm poured him a glass and slid it across the table. "Thanks," Trent said.

Harm waited for him to take a drink before beginning the questioning. He sat back in the chair to show a relaxed attitude. "Have you worked as a bartender in many places before?" He asked coolly. It felt like an eternity before there was a response from the man sitting across from him.

"I wasn't behind the bar," Trent said calmly.

"Oh come on," Harm responded. That was the answer the JAG lawyer had expected. "We have somebody that was in the ballroom who has identified you as being behind the bar," he added without going into too much detail. "So we know you were working behind the bar for a little while," he said as he still maintained that cool tone.

Trent ran his fingers through his hair slowly. "I was covering for Jake while he took a bathroom break," he answered. "I'm not sure what happened with the agent that went down. Only what I heard," Trent said.

Harm sat quietly for a moment. "So, apart from being a what? A Valet, you also moonlight as a bartender?" He asked.

"Not exactly," Trent answered. "I was just helping out my friend," he said forcefully.

"Relax… I just want to get to the truth," Harm kept the mood light. He tried to keep the suspect from being on edge. "What about this Jake person you mentioned?" Harm said.

"He was the person behind the bar," Trent answered.

"Is there anything more you want to tell me?" Harm asked. He looked down at his watch and checked the time. Trent shook his head.

As if on cue, the door to interrogation swung open hard enough to hit the wall, allowing Gibbs and Fornell to enter the room. The bang made both men slightly jump in their chairs. "You're not suppose to be talking with my suspect!" Gibbs shouted. "Out of the chair!" He ordered. Harm quickly stood up.

"Hey," Harm, much taller, vocally protested as he was ushered and then shoved out of the room by Fornell.

"Now," Gibbs snapped when he turned his attention on Trent. "Enough of this jerking us around," he said, curling his hand into a fist and then hitting the edge of the table, hard.

"I just told the other guy everything," Trent reacted and leaned back as far as he could against the chair. He needed to put the maximum amount of distance between him self and Gibbs. He swallowed hard at the sudden change of interrogators and the moods that visibly scared him.

"Oh come on. You're telling me that you told Mister Friendly everything?" Fornell cut in, positioning himself along the other side of Gibbs. "The Ballroom event was planned by security personnel. You **do** realize you're in deep shit just by breaking any protocol," Fonell raised his voice a level.

"And don't forget, that a federal agent was poisoned… _MY_ federal agent at a federal function," Gibbs stared deeply in order to unnerve the man. "Right now you're the main suspect," he said.

"Now, wait a minute," Trent quickly said.

"Did I ask you a question?!" Gibbs snapped and stood up straighter. "I don't think he realizes how much trouble he's in," he mentioned to Fornell before turning his attention back to Trent. "Do you realize how much trouble you're in right now?" Gibbs asked, harshly.

"You've attempted to kill an Agent. You're looking at some serious time here," Fornell kept his gaze fixated on the suspect.

They were interrupted by a tentative knock on the door and McGee entered. "Ah, Boss… Fornell," McGee said. "There's a phone call for you two," he replied, nervous about interrupting the intense interrogation. Gibbs and Fornell followed him out of the room.

They met up with Harm, who was leaning up against the wall, amusement on his face. He found the situation interesting, playing the good cop/bad cops routine in order to through off the suspect. From his own observation in the adjacent room, he knew it was working.

"McGee," Gibbs said. "You take Ziva and go and bring in Jake for questioning," Gibbs ordered. That was a new name that had cropped up and another person that had to be interrogated. "So, was he on the security list as part of the bar staff?" Gibbs asked.

"Jake Langenkamp was," Harm checked the fax he held in his hand, "along with his daughter Heather… But Heather called in sick a couple of hours before hand," Harm answered, "it has been corroborated," he made sure to add.

"So basically… It's down to two suspects right now," Gibbs said. "Abs had run tests on the alcohol bottles used to make the martini. The poison wasn't in the bottles it was administered into the drink, at the bar. This wasn't a random act. Tobias, you find out anything you can about Langenkamp. Right now I want anything at all we can get out of this guy. Any other names, who was the target, why and who ordered the hit, anything we can squeeze out of this, Trent guy," he pointed to the interrogation room.

* * *

_**Bethesda Hospital**_

Abby waited in Tony's room. He was sleeping peacefully and she didn't have the heart to wake him. "How's he doing?" She asked in a whisper.

Ducky examined the charts. "Anthony is doing well," he answered her, quietly. "Though the Doctor wants to keep him a while longer until his vitals have stabilized," he explained to Abby.

"So he's going to be alright then?" Abby asked.

"I'm fine Abs," Tony said. It was the first question he heard when he woke up. He took the cup of water that was offer by Ducky. He knew that maintaining his water intake was important after part of his memory remembered what the doctor had said. At least he wasn't tied up to every machine imaginable now. "So how's it looking Ducky?" Tony had been watching the older man read through his chart.

"It's looking good, Anthony. And, I must say that you are a lot better than when you first arrived," Ducky answered, he was pleased with the results, but then again it always seemed that Anthony had amazing recuperative powers when he allowed his body to do so. "Not too fast Anthony. We still have to keep an eye on your water intake," he explained before leaving. "I have to leave and get back to Autopsy," Ducky bid a farewell.

"Later Duck," Abby said before she turned to her friend. "Good to see you awake."

"How long have you been here?" Tony asked as he slightly sat up.

"Not long at all," Abby answered. "Did you know you had everyone worried Tony? Things got so bad that Gibbs is willingly working with Tobey and Rabb. Of course boss-man is taking the lead," she smiled knowingly and then gave him a quick rundown on how hinky she thought things were.

Something began to cloud Tony's mind. "Oh no," he moaned.

"What's wrong?" Abby asked with a frown. "You ok?" She asked.

"I got a visit from those three," Tony winced at the memory. He suddenly felt like he wanted to crawl under the bed and hide, "I have a vague memory that they came and visited me… I was really hoping I was only dreaming it," he explained the sudden look he gave.

Abby giggled softly before composing herself. "Oh, Gibbs called me to update me on your condition and said you were kind of out of it," she told him.

"Did they say anything?" Tony asked. The memory again hitting him was pretty fuzzy. He thought he remembered calling them all bastards for some reason. "I really think I was rude to them," he added.

"It's not the first time Gibbs has seen you all out of it and loopy, Tony. Tobey and Rabb didn't say anything if they were bothered by it," Abby assured him.

"Tobey?" Tony raised his eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, I started calling him Tobey. You really should hear his response," Abby answered, "he goes all macho and grunts in response," she added with a giggle.

Tony smiled, knowing from past experience just how much it did get under Fornell's skin. "I know, I've called him Tobey plenty of times just to annoy Fornell. He hates it and I just keep doing it because, well you know me, if it works I'll do it. And, because it's so damn funny." Tony laughed.

"I know! I thought of you when I called him that and then said if you did, so could I." She laughed with him at first and then quieted when she saw his reaction.

Tony winced again. "You didn't say that, did you? He's going to bust my balls. He'll think I put you up to it," Tony thought for a moment and glanced at Abby, he didn't want her to feel guilty, "uh-huh, well don't worry about it." Even uncomfortable, Tony started to laugh again. Sheepishly, Abby admitted what she had said and then joined in with his laughter.

"Well how are you doing?" Brad asked as he watched the two from the doorway before entering. "Don't worry about Agent Gibbs and the other two. Before they entered to speak to you I told them that you were acting loopy because of the pain meds," Brad remembered the look on the other faces when they left. They had been confused about Tony's behavior even after Brad's explanation. Although Brad knew Gibbs was used to seeing his agent off the wall from pain medications and that he also knew how to handle the situation.

"Loopy's a new medical term Brad?" Tony asked with a smile.

"Yeah," he answered with a snicker. "Your blood pressure is looking good and your temp's holding steady. That's really good," Brad told him after quickly looking at his chart.

"Does that mean I can get out of here soon?" Tony queried. He wanted to be part of the investigation. "I have to find out who tried to kill Gibbs," he said.

"I'm not releasing you yet, so you can just forget about it," Brad told him sternly. "When it comes to all of you it's best to err be on the side of Agent Gibbs," he smiled at the small joke.

"Right now, Gibbs is bossing around McGee and Ziva along with Rabb and Tobey," Abby assured her friend, "so I think they have enough people working on it."

"Oh and one other thing Abigail, can you take that damn hippo thing with you when you go?" Brad asked. "He's been annoying the nurses with it when he started feeling better," the doctor explained. It had taken some time to realize what was going on.

"Oh Tony you didn't," Abby said, hiding her smile. She wasn't at all surprised by it. "That's not why I gave you Bert," she chastised Tony but couldn't hold her smile in and gave the mood away.

Tony shrugged his shoulders guiltily but smiled. "It was fun. You would've loved to have seen their faces," Tony told Abby, knowing his friend so well and that she would. "But anyway, Doc. Seriously, how long till I can get out of here?" He lightly demanded an answer.

"As I keep telling you every time you ask. We're waiting for your vitals to stabilize before we send you home to recover and I do mean **to recover**," Brad answered, knowing Tony and how he'd try and get right back to work. "By the looks of things you'll be out of our hair soon," he passed on the good news. This made Tony and Abby smile.

"That's good," Tony responded cheerfully.

* * *

_**Langenkamp Residence**_

McGee had his hand on his sig as Ziva knocked on the door. Past experiences had taught him to be extra vigilant in these situations. It seemed the quieter things were the worse things got. Ziva knocked harder, still no answer. Since there was a car in the driveway, Ziva tried the doorknob, unlocked, it opened.

They raised their sigs to eye level as they entered the house. McGee took a quick look around the main hallway. His eyes stopped. "Look at that," McGee whispered and then nodded in the direction of the large movie poster on the wall. It was easy to picture that poster hanging proudly in Tony's place.

"A Nightmare On Elm Street?" Ziva read slowly and quietly. "I do not think I have seen that one," she shook her head before continuing through the house along with McGee. They went separately through the rooms and called out clear as they went from room to room. No one seemed to be at home. Even though they had cleared the house Ziva called out. "Hello?"

"Jake Langenkamp?!" McGee called out not knowing if this were the man they came to get. "N-"All he saw was a shadow on the wall. He started to spin around as he identified himself. Gun still in his hand he felt a sudden blow to the back of his head. McGee's legs gave out and his body was caught and laid down silently. McGee's brain was fuzzy and his head ached, his vision blurred. This only last less than a minute before darkness engulfed him.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Ballroom Blitz 6**_

"He is coming around," Ziva said. McGee recognized her voice right away. Before he responded he checked the back of his head for blood. There didn't seem to be any that he could feel. "McGee?" Ziva's voice was filled with concern.

"I'm here," McGee sat up but the room began to spin a little as he did so. "Who hit me?" McGee searched his memory. He remembered seeing a shadow on a wall.

"I'm sorry," a female voice he didn't recognize was on the verge of tears. "I didn't know who you were. I just saw you walking around with guns and I thought… I didn't know you were Agents," Heather pleaded her case earnestly.

"Do not worry about it?" Ziva asked as she helped McGee to his feet. He walked a little unsteadily. "Sit down McGee," she ordered him. "You are Heather Langenkamp yes?" Ziva asked.

"Yes I am," Heather said as she kept a watchful eye on the man she had hit.

"I'm Officer David and this is Agent McGee," Ziva introduced her self and McGee officially. "We're with NCIS," they showed their badges to the middle aged girl.

"Oh God… I'm in trouble now. Is there something I can get you? Can I ring the doctor?" Heather asked in a panicky voice. "Look, I'm sorry I hit you, I didn't know who you were," she still pleaded her case. "I can get you something for the pain," she said.

"No I'm right," McGee said trying to convince himself to. Whatever she hit him with it was definitely was with some force. "We're here to speak to Jake Langenkamp," McGee gave the reason for their intrusion. "The door was open and we entered to see if everything was alright. We got no answer," he continued to explain but then waited for a reasonable reason for it.

"I was at the back," Heather responded. "Again, I'm truly sorry," she apologized once more.

He wasn't sure if it was her continuous apologies or the knock to the head but he was developing a headache. "Have you got anything for a headache?" McGee asked. He could feel the lump forming.

"Perhaps we should take you to the hospital and get you checked out McGee," Ziva said to him. It was either take him to the hospital first or take Langenkamp in for questioning. "I'll drop off Mrs. Langenkamp to be questioned, I am sure Gibbs and the other two want any answers she can give," Ziva responded.

"Miss Langenkamp," Heather responded as she pushed her fringe out from her eyes. She made sure to stress the point.

"We will drop off Miss Langenkamp… No wait. I will drop you off at the hospital and then take Miss Langenkamp over to NCIS and I can explain what has transpired," Ziva said.

"Sure?" McGee asked.

"Sure… I will explain that we did not have time to properly identify ourselves and that Miss Langenkamp was only defending her self against armed intruders," Ziva worked out the scenario. "Would you mind coming with us?" Ziva asked.

"Not at all," Heather responded. "Do you mind if I grab my bag?" She asked.

Ziva turned to allow Heather to walk past. "You think you can stand McGee?" She asked.

"I'm not an invalid," McGee said softly as he rose. He still felt a bit unsteady on his feet.

"I did not say you were McGee," Ziva sighed impatiently. "You got a swift blow to the head. You should get checked out since you look a little green around the lungs," Ziva observed.

"Gills Ziva. It's green around the gills," McGee groaned loudly.

"Fine. You look a little green around the gills," she said in an annoyed tone. Ziva checked her watch and wondered what on earth could be taking Heather so long. Surely it did not take that long for a woman to find her purse. Some more time had passed until Heather came in with her brown purse.

"Sorry it took so long," Heather told them. "I had to find my keys. I swear that my purse is the Bermuda Triangle at times. Things go in, sometimes never to be seen again," she chuckled softly.

"Right," Ziva said as they led Heather to the car.

* * *

_**NCIS**_

"Where's McGee?" Gibbs asked while waiting for Heather to be taken into the interrogation room.

"I took him to the hospital. He received a blow to the back of the head. We were going to speak with Jake and Heather Langenkamp. We received no answer from the house and the door was unlocked. We entered the premises with our weapons drawn. Before we could identify ourselves as NCIS agents… Miss Langenkamp bishop-hit McGee and was suffering some ill-effects so I took him to get checked out. After the questioning, and I take Heather back home, I will pick up McGee and also see how Tony is," Ziva allowed herself to breathe. She was worried about them both now. And frankly, the thought of NCIS, JAG and the FBI working together was quite unnerving.

"Alright," Ziva said as she walked into the observation room and waited. It was always interesting to observe certain techniques. Her eyes widened in surprise when Gibbs allowed the other two in the interrogation room with him. They were going for a group attack by the look of it.

* * *

_**Bethesda**_

Tony had been drifting on the edge of sleep and wakefulness just out of pure boredom really. It was boring lying around and waiting for permission to be discharged. He had thought a couple of times about signing himself out but knew that Gibbs would have his hide if he did. Tony let out an elongated sigh.

"Hey," Tony greeted the doctor who had entered his room. It was plausible that Brad was away for the day or seeing other patients. He knew he wasn't the only patient in the hospital. The flash of white came closer.

"Tony DiNozzo," the man said coldly as he stood at the foot of the bed.

"Yes?" Tony said in a cautious tone. This man wasn't his doctor that was much was obvious. "Can I help you?" He asked.

"You probably don't remember me. Hell, you probably don't even remember my daughter… I am Jake Langenkamp and I'm here on behalf of my daughter Heather," Jake said in a dangerously low tone.

The name sounded familiar. Where had he heard the name before? "I don't know who you're talking about," Tony answered. He didn't like the sound of where this was going. "The name sounds familiar," he added.

"Of course it wouldn't Romeo," Jake answered venomously. He had expected that the young man wouldn't remember.

"I don't know…" Tony was interrupted by an upheld hand.

"I don't expect you to remember Mister DiNozzo. I doubt that a Romeo like you would care to remember Heather," Jake waited for a glimmer of recognition. It still didn't show on the cocky man's face. "That's right… Love them, leave them. Use them and then toss them aside like an old oily rag," Jake said to him as he walked around the bed. Murder had never been part of his persona but for Tony he had made an exception. "Too bad you just didn't be a good little person and drink all of that drink. For years I've been waiting… Biding my time until the opportunity arose. Finally it did," Jake told him as he fiddled with a stethoscope. "Oh yeah, I realize how stupid it was to attempt to murder a federal agent in those circumstances. But I guess that it shows everyone something… Don't fuck with us," Jake said as he faced Tony once again. "You've destroyed every chance she has had at romance… You could've let Heather down gently. But no, you tossed her aside," he said before attempting to wrap the stethoscope around Tony's neck.

* * *

_**NCIS interrogation**_

Heather accepted the cup of coffee from Harm as the long interrogation. Her shaking hands almost spilled the coffee. "Thank you," Heather said with a sheepish smile.

"Are you ready to continue?" Gibbs asked. He gave a look at Fornell who was standing in a dark corner of the room. Fornell occasionally shot a couple of questions going. They were using a triangular type tactic when Heather began to feel faint and sick due to the stress of the situation.

"Yes," Heather answered eventually. "I'm sorry… I don't know what happened. I was feeling fine and then felt dizzy," she kept her eyes fixated on the cup on the desk.

"It happens sometimes," Harm said as he sat on the edge of the desk and Gibbs sat down.

Gibbs bit his lip before continuing. "I must say that almost everyone has been accounted except for your father Jake Langenkamp," Gibbs said. "We're not saying he did it, we're not saying he's to blame but if you want us to cross him off the list then you better tell us where to find him," Gibbs stated.

"Unless you think he's guilty and you're protecting a man that's attempted to murder a federal Agent Miss Langenkamp," Fornell stepped into the light. "You realize that that could be just as bad as the actual offence," he stated coldly. They wanted to make sure the seriousness of any cover up would be.

She looked up and quickly buried her head in her hands and her shoulders began to rhythmically heave as she sobbed. "I'm sorry, but I don't know anything," she cried out. "I wish I could tell you more but I can't," she buried her head on the table.

Harm patted her on the shoulder before he followed Fornell and Gibbs out into the hallway. "Do you believe her?" Fornell asked Gibbs.

"If she's lying she's putting on one hell of a performance," Gibbs answered with an annoyed sigh. His head and gut was telling him one thing while his heart was telling him another. "Ziva," Gibbs said as soon as she walked out into the hallway. "I want you to take Miss Langenkamp back home… I'm going to get McGee back here, I need him for some digging," he said without giving too much away.

"You're not going to see how Tony's doing?" Another voice bounced through the hallway. "He was asking about the case before I left," she said.

"I'll bring him up to speed," Gibbs responded. "But right now he should be recuperating," he said. That was what his senior field agent should be doing but he was probably either chatting up the nurses or reminiscing about his frat boy days with Doctor Pitt.

* * *

_**Bethesda**_

Tony's body hit the floor with a sickening thud. It was much better than getting strangled. He found himself dragged to his feet by Jake. Out of desperation, Tony pushed himself backwards by push kicking the bed. The monitoring equipment fell off the stand and went crashing to the floor. With the extra adrenaline he was able to flip Jake over his shoulders but immediately felt his leg being pulled from underneath him and he slipped to the ground hard.

Tony felt the strong hands latch onto his throat and squeeze, restricting his ability to take in oxygen. He felt himself fading fast as Tony closed his eyes and he felt his body relax.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Ballroom Blitz 7**_

Jake looked down at the now still body of Tony DiNozzo. The man who destroyed any chance of a happy ending. Finally, the struggle was over. Now, with the man dead, his daughter would be able move on and perhaps find another man to love. The man responsible for his daughter's unhappiness laid still in the hospital room floor.

"Would've been a lot easier if you just died the first time," Jake said to the still body before leaving the hospital.

Tony heard the footsteps leaving the room. He found it hard to struggle so instead, decided to play possum. And people always said watching Wrestling was a waste of time. Playing possum was something he had learned from The Hitman.

He climbed to his feet and entered the hallway. Sure he was supposed to be resting up and this couldn't be classed as recuperating. Hell, Brad would go ballistic. He sprinted to try and catch up with Jake Langenkamp. "Stop him," Tony called out as he tried to get other people's attention. He was shocked to see that nobody seemed to be paying any attention to two people running through the hospital. "Stop -," Tony said in between taking deep breaths. He hated the times when his body wasn't fully recovered and he was forced into physical altercations.

A doctor who seemed intent on talking on the phone moved his foot over to the trolley and dragged it before pushing it into the perpetrator's legs, knocking him to the ground. "And who might you be?" The doctor bent down.

"Nice move Brad," Tony was trying to catch his breath. "Surprising."

"You'll find I'm full of surprises and you know I love to go for the legs," Brad smirked. "What did this guy do?" Brad had learned awhile ago that it was better to act and then think long and hard about it.

"I need to call my boss," Tony said as he rubbed his head. "Just hold him there… McGee?" Tony was shocked to see him approaching.

"I'm surprised to see you running about," McGee had seen the commotion that had been going on but was unable to help out.

"What happened to you Probie?" Tony asked.

"I got whacked over the head with a frying pan," McGee said. There were no ill effects now but he wanted to check in on how Tony was doing. It was a matter of killing two birds with one stone. He grimaced, that was thinking thoughts better not thought.

"You got whacked?" Tony laughed. "Well, you can watch him while I tell the unholy trinity that we have their man," he said.

* * *

_**NCIS interrogation**_

It seemed that just being out of his Bethesda Blues he felt a whole lot better. That's what he'd named the pajamas they issued. Now he just had to convince his eagle-eyed boss that he was fine.

"You look much better than we last saw you," Harm observed.

"Coffee Fornell?" Tony offered one of the extra cups to Fornell.

"Thanks DiNutso," Fornell responded.

"Harm?" Tony held out the coffee.

Harm's attention was still focused on what was going on in the interrogation room. "No," he simply answered. The coffee was still in the outstretched hand, beckoning to be taken. "You're going to force that coffee down my throat?" Harm asked.

Tony dumped the coffee into the bin and exited the observation room. He had hoped that the offering of coffee would be seen as a peace offering. Instead the olive branch was broken and thrown away.

"Hey," Harm said to get Tony's attention.

Tony thought about ignoring him but decided to turn around and face the man following him. "What?" Tony almost snapped but held himself back a little. "I offered you a peace offering and you knocked it back," Tony said. Normally, he didn't care what a lawyer would think but this was different.

"What?!" Harm asked in a shocked tone. "That coffee was a peace offering? Why would you even give me a peace offering?"

"Look, I said some things that I shouldn't have. It's just, I don't know, things get really weird when I'm on pain pills," Tony simply said. It wasn't really an excuse, it was more of an explanation.

"Look Tony," Harm said softly. "If the worst thing I get called in one day is a bastard, then I class it as being a great day," Harm explained to him. "To tell the truth, I think lawyers are bastards as well. But I didn't take the coffee because I didn't want one," he added.

Tony nodded in response. It didn't seem to take much to put some things into perspective. For a lot of reasons, he despised lawyers but for some reason Harmon Rabb was tolerable. "Well if it's any consolation I don't think of you as a bastard," Tony said.

"Bullshit," Harm laughed. "You still think I'm a bastard… I'm just the likable kind," he said cockily.

"Yeah sure," Tony laughed back.

* * *

_**Outside NCIS building**_

Harm lit up the cigar once he met up with Gibbs and Fornell. "You know if word gets around that we can work together, they'd expect it all the damn time," Fornell said seriously.

"Damn right… But put it this way. They won't send us on those stupid conference things again," Gibbs put in the plus side.

"If we have to work together again I want to be a bad cop next time," Harm laughed.

"Yeah right," Gibbs responded. "Nobody would believe you to be a bad cop," he hid his smile behind the cup of coffee.

"Everyone," Jenny greeted as she approached the three. They all turned to face the NCIS director. "We're setting a date for another gala event since the last one was a miserable failure," she informed them on her way past.

"Aw, hell," Gibbs sighed in anguish. That was the last thing he wanted to hear. "I don't see why we have to attend," Gibbs stated.

"Yeah," Harm replied after taking a puff. "Failure? I doubt it… Since it did improve interagency communication even if it was just for the one case," he added.

"Damn straight," Fornell answered. "Huge success and I think we've learned to communicate very well," he said.

"Yeah," Gibbs said. "I tell you if I have to attend one of those events again I'm going to drive my car off the nearest cliff," it was an idle threat of course.

"Oh come on Jethro… I saw that your boy loved playing Bond for a night. He'd love to have another go at it," Fornell smirked.

"Well Sacks didn't seem to mind at all and neither did you or Faith Harm," Gibbs responded quickly, daring them to argue that point.

"Point taken," Harm said with a huge grin. "It wasn't all bad though… Well besides the bad food, your agent getting poisoned it turned out very well," he said. He should've realized it sooner to stop the words from exiting his mouth.

"Very well?" Gibbs found him self ready to explode.

"I mean, he's alright, the night ended early and the alcohol was good," Harm shrugged his shoulders. "Sounds like a good night out to me," he kept the mood light.

"Where is your boy Jethro?" Fornell asked.

"Abs took Tony home to look after him Tobias and Ziva is taking care of McGee," Gibbs answered.

"I swear if one more person calls me Tobey I'm going to kill DiNutzo," Fornell said.

"There's my ride," Harm said as a car pulled up. "It's been good working with you two. Now I know that co-operation is possible," he said.

"Drink at my place Tobey?" Gibbs asked.

Fornell grunted in response. He should have seen that coming. "Lead the way Leroy," he said in return.

* * *

Heather waited on the other side of the glass for her father to sit down in front of her. "Hey Heather," Jake greeted in a resigned tone. It was difficult to be in this predicament but knew the reasons why he did it.

"Dad," Heather wiped away a tear that had escaped.

"Be brave," Jake told her. "I knew the consequences and I still did what I did. He knows how he had hurt you. I made sure to tell him what he'd done," Jake said as he put his hand on the glass. "I made sure he had suffered so that it could alleviate some of the pain you felt," he said.

A ghost of a smile appeared on Heather's lips. "Thanks… I didn't want it to be this way," Heather said. She wanted to stay strong.

"I know Heather," Jake stated evenly. "But as I said before… Nobody fucks with a Langenkamp and gets away with it," he said. "The way you can thank me is to live happy and I'll see you when I'm released," he said. "I love you."

"I love you to dad," Heather responded before leaving.

**_A/N: Thanks for sticking with this story... Special thanks to those who nominated Hell From 12 and Easter In Stillwater for Fanfic awards. I must say that I'm really surprised at that._**

**_Also I loved this story. I love the idea of the Unholy Trinity. LOL. I'm not sure if Smoking is permitted just outside the NCIS building. But I think Harm should be allowed to smoke his cigars anywhere he wants to._**


End file.
